Each month a team member of Metro will be writing a movie review to share with you. And this month team member Tamasan Freyer has reviewed 'Ted' Directed by: Seth MacFarlane, Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane & Giovanni Ribisi

If you thought the 2009 smash hit ‘The Hangover’ was the 'bees knees', then you sure are in for a roller coaster of a giggle with this year’s most anticipated comedy ‘Ted’. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and the directorship and voice of Seth MacFarlane, this epically funny film follows the story of John Bennett (Wahlberg) and his real life teddy bear, Ted.

When eight year-old John’s wish for his bear to come alive is miraculously granted, they both embark as “thunder buddies for life”. The pair are inseparable, especially when it comes to beer, bongs, and Flash Gordon.

Every bloke in the cinema roared with laughter during the poignant moments when Ted and John sing the Thunder song with a fart noise to finish, and when Ted makes suggestive use of his supermarket checkout scanner to impress a co-worker, and of course when Ted hits a parked car because he was “sending a Tweet”.

What is so refreshing about this film is that both women and men, young and old, could all share in the laughs whatever the joke entailed. MacFarlane’s humour is so unrestrained and so crude that there is no room for being offended. Every audience member understood from the very start that this was a space for laughing, and being open, and embracing one’s inner immaturity (which is not as ‘inner’ for some).

When John’s long term girlfriend Lori (Kunis) insists that it is time for Ted to move out so that John can grow up, John struggles to be the responsible 35 year-old. He can’t help but ditch Lori’s work party to attend Ted’s wild beer-infested house bash attended by none other than Flash Gordon.
Here we see the party that may just have been the inspiration for the ‘The Hangover’, inclusive of a crazed duck, an irate neighbour and one helluva brawl. John’s revelation to Ted that he has “lost everything” after Lori walks away is so profound that the audience is silent for the very first time.

Ted showed us just how hard it can be for our husbands, boyfriends, or brothers to conform to our ‘responsible’ expectations, and cross over to the land of adulthood when marriage comes into view. I couldn’t help but stare at my twenty-five year old partner and think, I have to wait TEN YEARS for you to learn not to make fart noises in the supermarket line??! And for the guys, they could heave a collective sigh of relief that they weren’t the only ones still fantasising about sinking shots with a childhood action movie star.

Watching Ted in a booked out theatre of almost three-hundred people, we all cried with laughter, and laughed even harder at those who couldn’t control their snorts and hysterical giggles. More importantly however, we could all relate to the film, and celebrate the fact that there is a kid in all of us, no matter how old or how young.

It has been a busy day today, with Nokia announcing the launch of two phones in India. Along with the Nokia Lumia 610, the Lumia 800 The Dark Knight Rises Limited Edition phone has also been launched, and should be available in markets from tomorrow.

The Lumia 800 The Dark Knight Rises phone will truly be limited edition, with Nokia announcing that only 200 units will be available. So, we suggest that if you want one, hurry and grab one now!

This edition of the phone will carry forward the same unibody build as seen on Lumia 800 (read our review) phones, but the black colour will be accompanied by a laser etched Batman logo on the back, to make it stand out in a crowd.

Buyers will get access to a whole host of exclusive stuff. First off, the phone will be loaded with the Dark Knight Rises app, with exclusive trailers, photo galleries, integration with Maps to list where the movie theaters premiering the movie are, as well as a game that has been introduced in a tie up with Foursquare.

Googlejust posted a video onYouTubefor what it’s calling the first social streaming media player made for Google Play at Home, the Nexus Q.

The clip was discovered in the final minutes leading up to the Google I/O — Google’s annual developer conference in San Francisco — where it is likely gearing up to announce an array of new products, platforms and services.

The video of Nexus Q shows that the device streams music and entertainment from the cloud to your home.

“It’s the first device that lets you create social playlists with your friends,” the video states. “All they need is an Android phone or tablet and connection to your Wi-Fi.”

By launching the Google Play music app, you can list songs and albums to the queue and friends can add the same from their own collections. The Nexus Q also works for streaming YouTube videos and movies.

It's an orb-like streaming-media device with a $300 price tag, that looks to act as the bridge between Android tablets and smartphones, and your TV. The (currently unlisted) YouTube video shows off its ability to integrate with your Google Music account, as well as "push" videos to your TV, similar to Apple's AirPlay functionality.

While it's not entirely clear from the product shots currently available, the Nexus Q has a micro HDMI output (and includes an HDMI cable), in addition to an optical audio port, Ethernet jack, and banana jack speaker outputs. The Nexus Q also has a built-in 25-watt amp, which means you won't need a separate AV receiver to power speakers, similar to aSonos Connect:Amp. There's also built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC support.

The Nexus Q runs a version of Android 4.0, with 16GB of onboard flash memory and 1GB of RAM. Unlike streaming media boxes like Roku or the Apple TV, the Nexus Q only supports a few Google-centric apps: Google Play Music, Google Play Movies and TV and YouTube. The "social" aspect of Nexus Q initially appears to be the ability for multiple Android devices to create a group playlist.

According to the product page, the Nexus Q should be shipping in 2-3 weeks.Also listedis a set of$400 bookshelf speakers, made by Triad Speakers, designed to be used with the Nexus Q.

This is a developing story and will be updated with more details shortly.

Closer look at Nexus QGoogle's Nexus Q uses your Android smartphone or tablet in conjunction with Google Play to stream music and videos to your HDTV, sound system, or a pair of speakers. What sets the Nexus Q apart from similar media streaming devices, such as Apple TV, is that it allows you to collaborate with friends via your Android device to create playlists of music and video clips.

The Nexus Q isn’t just an Apple TV clone device from Google. Think of the Nexus Q as a hybrid between Apple’s streaming puck and the Sonos music streaming stereo component. The Q features a built-in 25W amp that can power a pair of bookshelf speakers. In addition, users can sync Qs across multiple rooms.

From a video promo (see below) of the Nexus Q Google says: "streams your favorite entertainment from Google Play and YouTube to the biggest speakers and screen in the house."

Using the Q, Android users on the same WiFi network can “queue” (get it?) up their Google Play Music tracks. Every user sees the same playlist, and can edit it as they see fit, hence “the first social streaming media player.”

The Nexus Q runs Ice Cream Sandwich, is powered by a dual-core OMAP4460, with 16GB of storage. Google will be shipping the Nexus Q in the next 2-3 weeks for a list price of $299. It’s thrice the price of an Apple TV, but it packs lots more features.